Steel, Explosives, and Spellcasters-Chapter 402 - 45 Two Choices_2

Chapter 402 -45 Two Choices_2

Brother Reed stood on the hillside with his hands on his hips, admiring the river as he praised, “Look at the Azure Dragon on the left, the White Tiger on the right, and the Jade Belt Water in front of the gate; this place is indeed a Feng Shui treasure land! However, this old man has no descendants, so pondering on these is useless, hahaha!”

Winters didn’t understand the old man’s ramblings, and he wandered through the caravan shouting, “The riverside camp is just ahead! We are almost there! Wine, meat, bread, warm blankets, we have it all! Hold on!”

As Winters was trying to rally everyone’s spirits, a gunshot sounded in the distance.

The gunshot echoed through the valleys, and Pierre came running down from the hill behind them, waving a signal flag and yelling hoarsely.

Winters couldn’t make out what Pierre was shouting, but he didn’t need to hear it to know.

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“The Herders are coming!” Winters bellowed, “Pick up the pace! Centuries, assemble!”

The crowd was startled initially, but then the drivers lashed their beasts, already at their limit, while the militia of Montaigne’s centuries scrambled towards Winters in disarray.

“They’ve come?” Lieutenant Colonel Jeska asked, galloping to Winters’ side on a bay horse.

“They’re here!” Winters affirmed.

On the ridge to the west, cavalrymen of the Herd appeared one after another.

In their eyes, the column of heavy wagons was sluggishly making its way towards the military camp of the Paratu People on the western bank of the Styx.

They stopped and stood, seemingly awaiting an order.

Winters silently counted the number of Herd cavalry, “There are fewer than a hundred riders coming.”

“Probably just the vanguard,” Lieutenant Colonel Jeska said with a sober face, “There could also be others hidden on the reverse slope.”

The Dusacks arrived one by one beside the lieutenant colonel, gathered in a jumbled group.

Winters and Andre’s centuries were quickly assembling, while Bard and his ragtag troops remained with the caravan.

The Dusacks also gathered, assembling behind the lieutenant colonel in disarray.

At that moment, the Herders made their move. They too realized that they couldn’t allow the Paratu People to form their ranks.

One rider charged forward, swiftly followed by a hundred more cascading down the hillside,

The thunderous clatter of hooves reverberated in the valley, the overlapping echoes majestic like thunder.

All the Paratu People were overawed by the momentum of the Herd’s Iron Cavalry, yet the one-eyed lieutenant colonel appeared completely unruffled.

“Overestimating the distance can kill the horse on the mountain; let them run a bit first.” Lieutenant Colonel Jeska’s left hand left the hilt of his saber as he calmly gave orders to the lieutenants, “Lieutenant Monta.”

“Present!”

“You’re the reserve.”

“Understood!”

“Lieutenant Tess.”

“Present!”

“Cover the cavalry.”

“Yes.”

The distance between the ridges seemed short, but to reach the other side one had to go down a steep descent and then up a steep ascent.

The Herders controlled their speed, jogging slowly towards the bottom of the valley.

There was still an uphill stretch ahead, and they didn’t plan to waste their horses’ strength at the outset.

Lieutenant Colonel Jeska cleared his throat and roared at the Dusacks, “Don’t be like headless flies! Form up like spearmen, arrowhead formation! Control your horses!”

In the Paratu cavalry, the young Dusacks, who had never received cavalry combat training, stood in a roughly shaped wedge formation under the scolding of the old Dusacks.

The lieutenant colonel scanned his riders with icy severity, “The old Marshal once said that the Herders are ferocious by nature, fierce in combat, and skilled with bow and horse, and that two Herd cavalrymen are like slicing through melons and cutting through vegetables when fighting three Paratu cavalrymen.”

The Dusacks showed different expressions, some tense, some fearful, but even more were defiant.

“Doubt it, do you?” Lieutenant Colonel Jeska bellowed, “Let me tell you, when you were still on the teat, Herd children were already carried in saddlebags, roaming the steppes! When you were still crawling on the ground, Herd children had already started learning to ride!”

In the formation, Anglu heard Pierre snort coldly through his nostrils.

“But the old Marshal also said that a hundred Paratu cavalrymen would never fear a hundred Herd Barbarians! A thousand Paratu cavalrymen could easily crush fifteen hundred Herd cavalry! That’s the power of discipline, tactics, and formation!”

Everyone’s breathing grew more rapid.

“The majority of you have not received complete cavalry training, I know,” Lieutenant Colonel Jeska yelled, “But that doesn’t matter. What’s a hundred and some Herd Barbarians? Follow me closely! Cut them down!”

Before the words even completely fell, the Lieutenant Colonel, taking the lead, roared as he charged down the slope: “Uukhai!”

The Paratu Cavalry were initially stunned but then uncontrollably followed that figure into the charge: “Uukhai!”

Winters let out a swear as the highest commander on site charged out first, and he didn’t even have time to stop him.

Andre was also stunned, but he quickly snapped back to his senses.

“All units, attention! Run, march!” Lieutenant Cherini bellowed as he led his troops to chase after the cavalry.

In a blink, only Lieutenant Montaigne and his hundred-man team remained on the hill, shivering in the biting western wind.

“Form a square,” Winters ordered helplessly: “Musketeers, ready your matches, load your ammunition.”

In the valley, the distance between the two cavalry groups was closing rapidly.

The Herders seemed to have no real formation to speak of.

The Paratu Cavalry were barely maintaining a wedge formation that was about to fall apart, with the Lieutenant Colonel himself acting as the spearhead.

As the two sides were about to crash into each other with a thunderous collision, everyone on the Paratu slope held their breath and watched intently.

“Boom!”

“Boom!”

“Boom!”

Three gunshots spread throughout the valley.

Winters looked towards the sound, noticing several Herders on the opposite slope also watching the battle. The gunfire had come from there.

Following the gunshots, a sudden change occurred in the valley.

The seemingly formless Herder cavalry suddenly split into two, each going around the left and right sides of the Paratu wedge formation.

“Damn it!” Winters cursed inwardly.

“Crap!” Andre also shouted in his mind.

The advantage of the wedge formation is its agility in turning, as long as everyone follows the person in front, the guiding rider can easily control the direction of the charge.

However, the Herders clearly didn’t intend to collide head-on with the Paratu; they split their forces into two, flanking the Paratu Cavalry’s wings.

Of course, the wedge formation can also split into two, but that kind of in-motion formation change is not something these rookie cavalry, who only knew how to charge blindly, could manage.

The one-eyed Lieutenant Colonel clenched his teeth and yanked the reins with his left hand. The charging wedge formation followed him as he turned, crashing fiercely into the Herder cavalry on the left wing.

In an instant, men and horses were sent tumbling. The Paratu and Herders who withstood the first wave of the clash began to engage in a chaotic melee.

The fifty or so Herder cavalry on the right flank chose not to support their comrades but instead bypassed the melee and headed straight for the convoy.

Near the ridge on the opposite slope, nearly a hundred more Herder cavalry emerged from the back of the incline.

Herder cavalry with feathers in their helmets and holding long spears cried out as they charged toward the Paratu engaged in battle at the bottom of the valley.

Andre and his soldiers finally arrived and joined the fray.

The more than fifty Herder cavalry on the right flank whistled past the small square formation of Montaigne’s hundred-man team.

Winters’ musketeers opened fire one after another, but not a single Herder cavalryman fell from his horse.

The Herders didn’t even bother with the militiamen in formation, heading directly for the clumsy convoy.

A difficult choice was suddenly thrust upon Winters.

Go back and save the convoy?

Support the battle in the valley?

In the convoy were only Bard and civilians, and what awaited them would be a massacre.

The battle in the valley seemed evenly matched, with the Paratu still having a chance of victory.

In the blink of an eye, he made his choice.

“If we lose down there, no one survives!” Winters’ roar was as if trying to convince himself: “Square formation, deploy! Everyone! Follow me!”

As for Bard’s side… they had to rely on themselves now.

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